Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange twist.

While flipping through Gary Regan’s 101 Best New Cocktails of 2012 two Fridays ago, I spotted the Black Lodge from Tommy Klus of Kask in Portland. Since we had enjoyed Tommy’s High Desert Swizzle a few months ago, we decided to select his drink from Regan’s collection. While we did not have Combier’s cherry liqueur, I decided that Cherry Heering would have to do in a pinch.
The orange twist greeted the nose and preceded a sip full of Cynar’s caramel notes pairing with fruity cherry and grape flavors. On the swallow, the rye was accented by the Cynar’s bitter flavors, and the drink ended with a pleasant cherry finish.

Stir the ingredients without ice in a mixing glass. Flame 3 orange twists to coat the inside of an Old Fashioned glass with orange oils. Pour in the drink, and garnish with a single unflamed orange twist. This is a room temperature cocktail.

After Trina’s, I was in the mood for a digestif-style nightcap while Andrea was wanting something light. As a compromise I suggested Maksym Pazuniak’s the Charlatan that appeared in Gary Regan’s Annual Manual for Bartenders 2012. Unlike the 2011 edition, there was no large collection of recipes (that will be in a separate book coming out in July); however, there were a few recipes scattered throughout including this one in a section on room temperature cocktails. Maks and others shared their thoughts on unchilled cocktails in a good article in StarChefs last year.

The Charlatan first presented orange oil aromas that later morphed into grape notes from the Punt e Mes. The sip showcased the fruit flavors from the Punt e Mes and Cherry Heering, and the swallow offered up the Punt e Mes’ and Campari’s bitter notes with hints of orange on the finish. I was intrigued at how the Cherry Heering brought out the fruit notes of the Punt e Mes and how Campari complemented its bitter ones. In the end, the Charlatan served as a good but light digestif.